EDITORIAL - A double tragedy

Not just one but two lives were lost after a pregnant woman wasn’t able to receive the emergency procedure she needed.

According to a story in this newspaper, Airish Comaling, 30, a resident of Argao Town, needed a caesarean section and she was referred from one hospital to another with no action being taken regarding her condition.

Different reasons were offered by the different medical institutions as to why the procedure couldn’t be carried out.

Eventually the baby in her womb died. Then the mother died as well.

We don’t want to point fingers yet as to who should be held responsible for what happened; an investigation into the incident is still ongoing. While there are reports that she was given the runaround, there were also reports that she didn’t have enough prenatal checkups, so it might be more complicated than we think.

However, there is no denying the double tragedy this incident became. What makes it even sadder is that in this age where communication and transportation are readily available it ought to no longer happen.

There is also no denying that the healthcare system in the province needs to be improved.

Those who regularly commute in Cebu City can attest to the frequency of ambulances coming in from the different towns. These ambulances often get stuck in traffic, blaring for attention, and leading people seeing what’s happening to pray that they make it to the hospital in time.

If the adequate facilities and personnel had been available to her at the start there would have been no need to refer her to another hospital, then another. If they had had what they needed, mother and child might still be alive today.

This is something we want to see with the new provincial administration. More facilities and personnel in the province and less reason to send patients off somewhere far, because this always carries the risk that they will die along the way.